Events in the Life of William McChesney Martin Jr.

Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, 1951-1970

William McChesney Martin Jr. is confirmed as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He formally takes office on April 2, 1951.

March 29, 1951

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.

March 30, 1951

Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I mainframe computer to the Department of the Census.

November 4, 1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected President of the United States. He serves 1953-1961.

March 5, 1953

Josef Stalin dies.

April 9, 1953

August Busch of Anheuser-Busch purchases the St. Louis Cardinals and Sportsman's Park, renaming it Busch Stadium. The St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore.

July 23, 1953

A cease fire is established between North and South Korea.

February 29, 1955

William McChesney Martin Sr. dies in St. Louis, Missouri.

May 14, 1955

Central and Eastern European communist countries form the Warsaw Pact to counter NATO.

January 20, 1956

William McChesney Martin Jr. appears before the Senate Banking and Currency Committee on his nomination for a full 14-year term on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

May 9, 1956

Bank Holding Company Act is passed. It regulates the activities of bank holding companies and requires Federal Reserve Board approval for the establishment of holding companies and for interstate operations.

October 23, 1956

A student demonstration in Budapest becomes a nationwide revolt against the communist government of Hungary. The Hungarian Revolution ended on November 10 after a large Soviet force invades Budapest, killing many civilians.

October 29, 1956

The Suez Crisis is precipitated by the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egypt. Egypt is invaded by forces from Great Britain and France to reopen the Canal.

September 24, 1957

President Eisenhower sends federal troops to Arkansas to provide safe passage to Central High School for the Little Rock Nine.

October 4, 1957

Sputnik is launched by the Soviet Union, beginning the Space Race.

July 29, 1958

Congress creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

January 1, 1959

Fidel Castro leads successful revolution in Cuba.

January 3, 1959

Alaska becomes the 49th state.

August 21, 1959

Hawaii becomes the 50th state.

November 8, 1960

John F. Kennedy is elected President of the United States. He serves until November 22, 1963. Richard Nixon blames Federal Reserve policies for his defeat.

August 13, 1961

The Berlin Wall is built by the Soviets and their East German allies. (The Wall is dismantled on November 9, 1989.)

October 16, 1962

Thirteen Days in October: The Cuban missile crisis begins. It is resolved when President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Khrushchev agree to remove nuclear missiles from U.S. bases in Turkey and Cuba.

November 22, 1963

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. He is succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson, who wins election on November 3, 1964, and serves 1965-1969.

July 2, 1964

Civil Rights Act is passed, outlawing segregation in U.S. public schools and public places.

August 7, 1964

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is passed. It allows President Johnson the authority to use military force in Southeast Asia without a formal declaration of war.

August 6, 1965

Voting Rights Act is passed. It outlaws literacy tests for voting registration and provides for Department of Justice oversight of voter registration.

October 28, 1965

Construction of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, also known as the Gateway Arch, is completed in St. Louis, Missouri.

May 12, 1966

The new Busch Memorial Stadium, designed by Edward Durrell Stone, opens in St. Louis, Missouri.

April 4, 1968

Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

June 6, 1968

Robert Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles, California.

November 5, 1968

Richard M. Nixon is elected President of the United States. He serves 1969-August 9, 1974.

January 30, 1970

William McChesney Martin Jr. resigns from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and ends his career in public service.